Central African Republic: UN Appeals for More Troops
Central African Republic UN Chief appeals for more Troops as Country-Wide State of Emergency is Declared
Bangui – Mankeur Ndiaye, head of the UN Mission in Central African Republic, MINUSCA (UNITED NATIONS MULTIDIMENSIONAL INTEGRATED STABILIZATION MISSION IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC), appealed for more peacekeeping troops to be deployed in the country as the security situation worsened in the past few weeks.
Just the past week, an attack by the Union for Peace Coalition (UPC) made a surprise attack against MINUSCA peacekeepers that resulted in the death of Moroccan and Gabonese peacekeepers. UN Chief said that in the past few weeks, 7 peacekeepers were lost due to attacks by different rebel groups.
Because they don’t recognize the legitimacy of the Presidential elections that took place in December of 2020, rebel groups surrounded the capital city of Bangui, and now control 2 thirds of the whole country.
After calling for national reconciliation, President Touadéra also said that “the perpetrators, of these unforgettable crimes against the people of CAR, will be found, arrested and brought before the competent courts.”
The UN Chief declared that the new security situation in the country is putting to test the ability of the peacekeepers to ensure the safety of the civilians, which is the utmost priority of the entire UN Mission.
Before the December elections, the UN Mission needed extra in-ground troops, which led to the deployment of more peacekeepers from neighboring South Sudan. The move not only boosted the UN’s capacity to ensure the safety of civilians but also boosted their morale.
The UN chief also pleaded for the deployment of more military equipment, including drones and attack helicopters. He said in a statement that the troops are deployed over very large areas, which makes their ability to respond to attack a very limited one.
He also added that the UN Mission cannot possibly cover the entire territory because of the sheer size of the country. If their requests are not met, the only response the troops can deliver is to do “whatever they can”.
MINUSCA, established in 2014, whose aims also include to disarm the country’s rebel groups, promote and protect human rights, has a total of 14,943 in-ground personnel, 11,018 of which are troops.
Morocco, who is an active peacekeeping force in 2 current peacekeeping Missions, has a total of 771 troops in the Central African Republic.